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Monday, 3 November 2014

Robots in Space with Exosuits

With tons of news being leaked or announced about COD: Advanced Wafare lately, and the release coming tomorrow, I'm tackling a debate that's been featured in many terrible attention-seeking blogs like this one: What has been or will be the best AAA shooter of the year? The verticality and parkour mixed with giant mechs of Titanfall, the pseudo-MMO experience of Destiny or the newfound eccentricity and futuristic tech of Advanced Warfare? While the latter may be hard to talk about, from the gameplay I've seen I should be able to make judgements.

Let's start off with Titanfall: an online-only shooter that, thanks to its cannon-fodder bots and the competitive epilogue to every game, always gives you the satisfaction of a victory, however big or small it is. The parkour is fluid and it's easy to traverse, the graphics look beautiful and stay beautiful despite the fast-paced gameplay and constant movement, and being a pilot or Titan doesn't skew the gameplay or give a clear winning edge: both methods of gameplay are effective against each other. It's a hugely balanced shooter, and one that, despite its deep features and gameplay customization, doesn't let go of its true purpose: to be fun.

Destiny is a game that has divided fans ever since it came out, but for me is a game deeper than most shooters, and while the open worlds aren't as organic or lively as I'd hoped, there's still plenty to do. The problem is that most of the things you'll do after the seemingly lazy campaign is mostly devised by the player, not provided by the game, but then again, Destiny is a huge playground of opportunity, and if it continues to be supported via free updates and hotfixes for years to come, this could be a game with huge replayability, and one that could successfully kickstart a new sub-genre.

Last of all, Advanced Warfare. It's actually a guilty pleasure for me, as I've been following all of its trailers and leaks (Sorry Randy, don't h8) because of how obscure and crazy it is, and all of the mad technologies that have created with it. It looks like one of the first CODs in a while that, while having a proper story, actually recognises its eccentricity and expands on it in a fun and interesting way. While I can't make any real judgements as of yet, it's looking to be a nice refresh for the series.

So who wins? While most of my PS4 time has been spent on Destiny and Advanced Wafare doesn't make me say "Gimme a break", I have to give the victory (So far) to Titanfall. It mixes so many different mechanics that have been experimented with before in other games, perfects them and squishes them into one polished, well-designed package that never ceases to be fun.

What do you guys think? What's your favorite AAA shooter so far, and have you been excited for Advanced Wafare? Has this article been way too generic? Tell us in the comments!